Personalized treatment in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: The outlook in 2020

Compared with other breast cancer subtypes, patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and irrespective to their disease stage, were always recognized to have the worst overall survival data. Although this does not seem different at the present time, yet the last few years have witnessed many breakthrough genomic and molecular findings, that could dramatically improve our understanding of the biological complexity of TNBC. Based on genomic analyses, it was consistently evident that TNBC comprises a heterogeneous group of cancers, which have numerous diverse molecular aberrations. This—in return—has provided a platform for a new generation of clinical trials using many innovative therapies, directed against such novel targets. At the present time, two PARP inhibitors and one anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (in combination with chemotherapy) have been approved in certain subpopulations of metastatic TNBC (mTNBC) patients, which have finally brought this disease into the era of personalized medicine. In the current review, we will explore the genomic landscape of TNBC, through which many actionable targets were graduated. We will also discuss the results of the key—practice changing—clinical studies, and some upcoming personalized treatment options for patients with mTNBC, that may be clinically adopted in the near future.